Morocco also unique, adventurous

Early on my Silversea cruise, the Silver Spirit was heading to North Africa and the exotic island of Morocco. Actually, there’s a couple of other adjectives that are equally appropriate — unique and adventurous.

Morocco has two ports: Agadir and Casablanca. They were my introduction to this North African country.

It’s not likely that the folks at Silversea would ask me for any pearls of wisdom, but if they did, I would have a scheduling suggestion. Skip Agadir and stay an extra night in Casablanca.

Agadir was all right but it’s basically a resort for Northern Europeans. Although I must say I enjoyed the souk (Arabic word for open-air marketplace) and the guide told me this one had over 3,000 stalls with at least 50 of them dedicated to leather goods. Other products included hand-sewn carpets, clothing, giant pomegranates and figs. This souk was much better than the one nearest to the port in Casablanca.

In Casablanca, you will find a population of close to four million. The current king is Mohammed VI and the Hassan II Mosque is named for his father. Don’t miss it…which would be hard to do, since its 690-foot minaret can be seen from the ship. This is the world’s third-largest mosque and it’s easy to visit on a cruise stop because its doors are open until 2 p.m., which leaves plenty of time to get back to the ship.

There’s a reason for Agadir’s tiny, winding streets

From Casablanca, Silversea offers two tours. One goes to Marrakech, the other to the nation’s capital,Rabat. The first takes 12 hours, the second takes five hours. Guess which one I took? There’s a good reason: I wanted to make sure there was enough time to explore Casablanca.

Morocco’s capital sits on the Atlantic Ocean, at the mouth of the River Bou Regreg. Here in the Kasbah of the Oudaias we drank mint tea, ate sweets and enjoyed the view…and I wondered about the tiny, winding roads. According to Abdullah, my guide, this was originally designed for defence — if the enemy did get over the walls they would have great difficulty dealing with the winding, downhill streets.

The palace in Rabat is off limits to the public but my impression is that the king lives well. You will find most of the world’s embassies here, including Canada’s, and it’s also home to the spectacular mausoleum of the Mohammed V and his two sons, one of whom is the father of the current King Mohammed VI.

Wherever you are in Morocco, look for the taxis that are one solid colour and they say “petit” on the side. They’re on meters and cheap, as opposed to the white ones that don’t say “petit” because they’re Mercedes.